Go see the new “Hunger Games” movie. Beyond the superficial teenage storyline is a dramatic tale of defiance against an oppressive government dictatorship.
I’ve always been drawn to stories — fictional or non-fictional — of those who stand up to government tyranny. It takes no small amount of courage to be a lone voice challenging a government that has the power to crush you.
World history is full of such examples. Many of us who grew up in the Cold War era vividly recall the murderous rule of the Soviet Union and its abuse of its own citizens who dared question its authority. Dissents of that oppression were celebrated at the time, but have since largely faded into the mists of history.

That’s a shame because it means the power of dissent and standing up to oppression has been lost on today’s youth who are too young to remember those events. Perhaps through the “Hunger Games” books and movies, they will get some idea of how ruthless unchecked power can become and of the bravery it took to oppose tyranny.
For those uninitiated in the “Hunger Games,” the main character is a teen girl who has unwittingly become the symbol of defiance against an oppressive dictatorship in the fictional post-USA nation of Panem. A tyrannical central government called “the Capital” controls 13 “districts” in what had been the USA. But while the Capital is a wealthy enclave, the districts are starving under the heel of a brutal subjugation and have started seething with revolt.
Enter Katniss, the girl who represents the spirit of independence, courage and defiance. Each year in Panem, two teens are selected from each “district” to compete in an elaborately-staged survivor-type competition in which the kids kill each other with the final survivor(s) declared champion.
In the first movie, Katniss and her male friend are selected from their district to compete in the games. At the end of that movie, she and her friend were the last survivors and rather than try to kill each other, they decide to ingest poison and die rather than be subjugated to the manipulation of the government.
But government dictators recognize that if they were allowed to kill themselves, the two teens would become strong symbolic martyrs to a population already simmering with rebellion.
The two are allowed to live, but because the Hunger Games, as the completion is called, are televised, Katniss becomes a national symbol of defiance.
In the second movie, Katniss and her friend (there’s a sub-plot love story there) are again put into the Hunger Games and have to kill or be killed. But this time, some of the other participants are part of an elaborate plan to rig the event and to make sure Katniss survives to lead a rebellion against the Capital.
For those who haven’t seen the movie, I won’t outline how it ends. But suffice it to say that a third movie is on the way.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, the “Hunger Games” was hailed as “best civics textbook since George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm.’”
I agree. Any storyline that appeals to young people and also extols the values of liberty, courage and defiance of an oppressive government is a story worth reading or seeing.
The intensity and violence of the movie may be too much for students under age 14, but it should be mandatory for other teens.

***
Speaking of an oppressive government, WSJ reporter Kimberley Strassel recently outlined how the Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on piano teachers.
Yes, you read that right. The FTC is harassing the Music Teachers National Association over what it calls “anticompetitive practices.”
The FTC is upset that the MTNA had a conduct code for its members that included the idea that piano teachers should respect each other and not actively recruit students from each other.
Who knew piano teachers were so brutal and aggressive to get another $15-$20 a week fee by raiding each other for students?
Nuts. It’s just another example of the Obama Administrations’ extremist liberal agenda.
But why pick on piano teachers?

***
The bankruptcy case of the City of Detroit brings into vivid focus the problem of just how many local governments have made promises they can’t keep.
Detroit, like a lot of towns, created a gold-plated pension plan for its employees. But the city, like a lot of cities, doesn’t have the resources to fulfill that obligation. It overpromised benefits to retirees because its political leadership didn’t have the guts to curtail the spending and to stand up to employee demands.
I’ve said it before and it bears repeating — many government employees at all levels are being paid much more than their private sector peers; they have many more holidays and vacation days compared to the private sector; they have much better health insurance than most of us in the private sector; and they have gold-plated pension and retirement benefits far beyond the private sector.
It’s time for all governments to get their compensation in line with the private sector taxpayers who have to not only work to provide for themselves, but also to provide rich benefits for government workers.

***
In a bid to take attention away from the ObamaCare mess, President Obama is now talking about “income inequality.” That’s code words for income redistribution.
What the president and his liberal colleagues want is to confiscate more money from those in the private sector who are productive and give that money to those who are suckling at the teats of government handouts.
Yes, there are some in society who need and deserve government help. But there are many on the dole who are just lazy and who don’t deserve any taxpayer funds. Those people learn to play the system and have become addicted to handouts.
The real income inequality in America isn’t what the president suggests; the real inequality is the difference between what government bureaucrats earn and the private sector.
Bet you won’t hear President Obama talk about that.

***
The welfare problem isn’t just limited to individuals, however. It’s obscene that the City of Atlanta is giving millions of taxpayer dollars away to build a stadium for the private Falcons football franchise. And it’s even more obscene that taxpayers in Cobb County are being fleeced to give millions of dollars away to build a stadium for the private Braves baseball franchise.
Those who own both teams are multi-millionaires many times over. Both teams are wealthy private businesses, yet taxpayers are subsidizing those deals.
That’s no different from those who don’t deserve individual welfare. In fact, this corporate welfare is worse.
No wonder the American middle class is being squeezed. We’re having to pay for both the poor who milk the system at the bottom and the uber-wealthy who milk it at the top.

Mike Buffington is co-publisher of Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.

Really, WTF... Buffington you are pinning away about some fictional Hollywood BS dictatorial political system crushing the individual under its thumb!!!

Have you not read the head lines in your own paper?

Not a year goes by, that some Individual, homeowner, small business or agribusiness owner is shown in the papers being crushed under the thumb of the GOB(Not GOP)party types for no other reason then the "That's how things is done in Barrow County...

You have written about the law being twisted... H@LL, in many cases, made up when NO law exists to crush the individual that dare stands up to the party.

The party's 10% just re-elected the arrogance (Dixon) as he stood up for city harassing (with public resources) one of the few remaining business in downtown Winder over a nonexistent regulation complaint from a private interest (Winder DDA). Really, what in this man's or even your stance reflects even basics of the Barrow County Republican Party core tenets...

"We are THE FREEDOM PARTY.

We believe in lower taxes (not raising taxes).
We believe in less governmental intrusion into our lives.
We believe in equal opportunity for all of our citizens (not equal results of misery)."

Winder uses its regulations or no regulations at all harass and/or shutdown any business the party deems...

The County raises taxes, cuts public safety, then uses the taxes and public bonds to support the those is deems worthy or to go after the individuals that dare stand up to BOC on its' annex perch...

Really, Buffington, you don't need to use some made up fiction about a dictatorial political system crushing the individual...

Just wait 5 minutes, the GOB (Not GOP) party will find someone to "Show'em, How Things is Done in Barrow".

LOL you just made that point, your reply is exactly why Barrow is the laughing stock around the state. The rest of the country and state is moving on. Hey, but maybe in 2014 you will get another fast food restaurant, just whats needed...

Mr. Buffington,
The current icy political relations, between
The City of Winder, and the BOC over the
last several years, has also contributed to
a growing lack of trust in elected officials to
actually do what they say they will do during
their campaigns. Until Barrow politicians start
taking the voters seriously, the status quo is
likely to continue.
Respectfully Submitted,
DuWayne Anderson
Conservative Republican voter,
Winder, GA

DuWayne, I agree with your comment, but how do you expect the politicians to take voters seriously if the vast majority of voters/citizens don't vote?
What bugs me is that attitudes of individuals such as the Patriot's... "If you don't like it leave" - are the exact attitudes that will leave Barrow in the stone ages. Barrow has a diverse population with a lot of talented individuals who could drive political change (positive)... Nonetheless, there are a lot of people who have fallen victim to that type of thinking, and Barrow County's status quo ain't good and will continue to leave us in the background as others move forward.

You make an excellent point. Not voting solves
nothing. Voter apathy continues to plague our
county in important local political races.
Having said that, conservatives that I have
spoken with, seem to feel that no matter who
you vote for, nothing ever seems to change.
This is a dangerous opinion that will have
dire consequences for Barrow County, if voters
don't put down the TV remotes, and start getting
Involved. 1 vote can make a difference.
DuWayne

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